Dragonsnaking
by Niagra Falling
Summary: Elphaba wakes up after eight months in the mauntery. She stays there for two years, and then sets off towards Gillikin to try to remake herself and invent a less painful life. But uneventful isn't a word associated with her for a reason... Bookverse
1. Chapter 1

**Well. First multichaptered fic since No Longer which probably could have been a one shot. Also my first Wicked fanfiction, although I've been reading the books since I got them for the holidays two years ago. **

** The idea for this came to me while watching The Mission in my Humanities class, and the subsequent 1500 words were written while watching that. The rest was either added on or edited in while I typed this up (which I hate doing for your information). I hope I won't abandon this, I have a plot worked out somewhere. **

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, Gregory Maguire does because he came up with the wonderful character of Elphaba and wrote the fabulous book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. So bow to him not me if you need someone to worship.  
**

The maunt was going to Gillikin. Skeletal, green, and silent, with a young boy around two years of age in her company. He didn't talk, the boy, he stayed by the maunt and buried his face in the black folds of her skirts when anyone tried to speak to him- odd, since he was past the age of learning words. They were a strange pair, albeit a par suited to one another. Oatsie Manglehand had asked the maunt if the boy was her son but the green girl (she really was a girl, although her age was somewhere about twenty five) had simply shrugged. Oatsie wasn't sure whether this was a yes or a no- maybe the boy was just sent with her on some sort of mauntly duty, and dropped it.

The other people on the caravan were wary of the two- the maunt was _green _for Oz's sake and that boy acted so unlike a normal toddling brat. Rumors, some with hints of truth, began to spread throughout the caravan, ranging from believable to the absurd. As will all rumors, the believable ones were thought to be idiotic and the absurd became a sort of truth to the rest of the caravan.

Elphaba ignored the whispers. She kept to herself as always and tended only the boy, the little unnamed boy. She couldn't bear to give him a name and place, although he had been with her all his short life and was hers. But she did have a sort of love for him, more older sisterly than motherly so far, but it was there.

Or at least she hoped so. The caravan traveled on with the skies mostly raining. The green girl huddled up in a wagon, back to the wall and the top mercifully covered bu a rough yet watertight canvas and held the boy close to her. She would try to rock him to sleep, humming old lullabies that she half remembered from Nanny and her childhood under her breath. "Fall asleep, say goodnight," she sang to him. "Child rest for I hold you tight..." She slumped, the rain a frightening percussion over head and her memory leaving her. "Chase away your sleeping evils, for I am right he-ere." She wasn't good at half making up songs to sing a boy to sleep, but the uneven tune hushed the toddler into sleep. She herself fought to keep her eyes open, because with the rain came the dreams.

_The blood, all over the floor and spreading spreading spreading out of the wound and he was dead, dead, dead, her poor Yero dead and she was soulless and the half -child inside her felt it's mother anguish and its little heart failed and the blood, the blood all over his blood covering her and she wept tears of salt and water and the tears scarred her face_

And then she would wake up, cold and shivering under a pile of scratchy warm wool blankets and the baby next to her would be staring solemnly with his tiny, chubby hands tangled in her loose dark mess of hair. He still didn't speak. She would just remember her own toddlerhood and said nothing in return. All that she did was unwind his hand from her hair and hug him to her, just a bit stiffly.

And so they traveled on. The weather got a bit sunnier and the rain stopped totally as they got to Gillikin. She had picked Gillikin because it reminded her of Glinda, silly foolish lovable girl that she was- is, perhaps, Elphaba reminded herself. After those dreams, those horrible horrible dreams, Elphaba stayed away from even thoughts of the Vinkus. She spoke and sang only to her- her? There still doubt in her mind, even though she had carried him when she woke up, three days before his birth (that had been a bit of a shock)- her still unnamed boy.

_In his cell he dreamt of her, dreamt of a green and black creature huddled up with something considerably smaller close. She was shaking and trembling in her sleep and then the smaller person with her opened its eyes and looked at her. "Mama?" it- he whispered, unsure, questioning. He twisted some of the woman;s black silk hair around his chubby small hand. "Mama," he said again, the question gone from his voice. As if on cue the woman woke up from her nightmare and hugged the boy, calming herself. She took a deep breath and spoke, her voice fairly rusty. "Liir..." she said slowly, cautiously, giving him a name for the first time. "Mama," he told her. And Elphaba, at the boy's love and her own hateful self spoke again._

"_No," she said. "No, I'm not a mother, I'm not a real person and I have no soul, I'm responsible for all their deaths, all their deaths- Doctor Dillamond, the people I killed as part of the Resistance, they had families and friends and lovers, Fiyero, Sweet Oz, Fiyero... no, no, no! No, I'm not a mother, I'm not a person, I'm not a mother to anyone I can't be, I can't!"_

_He felt her sadness and horrified acceptance and terror in his dream and he tried to reach out to her but he failed and he fell to other dreams, dreams where it was her that was dying on the floor of the corn exchange and all the blood was hers..._

Finally, finally they reached Gillikin. It was the last of all the stops, but finally they where there. A village, a small one, and it was called Wynn. Elphaba remade herself, called herself Annaele Tllie, because she didn't want anyone to recognize the name of Thropp and ask her why she wasn't in Munchkinland preparing for the possibility of maybe ruling, or at least advising the ruler of the hoards of Munchkins, and she especially didn't want people going at her because of the green terrorist bit- although she wasn't like that yet, really. Annaele Tllie was safer, she told herself. Elphaba Thropp was dangerous, an angry lioness, and a scared creature with a dead lover. Annaele Tllie had a child to take care of, a child who was mothered, not fathered. Elphaba had a child, true, but she had a child with a father and that father was dead because of her and it hurt too much so Elphaba became Annaele and Thropp became Tllie and maybe, just maybe she could be at some sort of peace.

She would get a job, a nice normal job to support himself. A bakery or a dress store. Well, maybe not a dress store, because this was Gillikin after all and she had absolutely no doubts that she'd be be frilled and laced and fluffed. But she could find a job, and maybe a room to rent... the Head Maunt had given her money and advice. But she had met with her once before that, when she had just woken up.

"_Miss Elphaba," the woman had said. "How are you?"_

_She shook her head. "I don't know. I don't remember.."_

_The maunt sat down beside her. "You've been here for quite a while in a coma. A little less than eight months. You're due in a few days, you know."_

_She blinked, gasped as the words sunk in._

"_Due? I'm not- can't be- not anymore- was but-"_

"_Sister Doctor Ardis confirmed it, dear, when you first arrived. It should be so obvious, Miss Elphaba, just look at your belly."_

_She looked down, noticed how large it was and splayed out a hand, feeling the child kick._

_  
"But-"_

_The Head Maunt interrupted then. "You are welcome to stay as long as you need, after you've settled and given birth, we would like you to help out. This is all the mauntery asks of you._"

_She nodded mutely and stared down at her hand over her stomach. The maunt left the room, and Elphaba stayed there for a good long time._

She got off the caravan with her two bags, halfheartedly waved goodbye to Oatsie Manglehand who didn't wave back and made sure the boy- Liir, Liir was close by.

"Well." she said to him and herself, her voice sounds weak even to her own ears. "Here we are," Liir nodded.

"So what do we do now?"

---

Linnet Shenn was dearly in need of someone to help out at her bakery. Each day she got covered in flour, unlike before when both she and her assistant both turned white with the dusty stuff. But now, now she had orders to fill and she couldn't handle them all. Lady Glinda the Good, Lady Glinda Chuffrey herself had ordered some pastries for a breakfast meeting when she was in Gillikin and Linnet had had to explain that she wouldn't be able to get them made in time because of the other orders she had- she was _so _embarrassed. Of course Lady Glinda understood, but still. Shame. That was why when the green girl came along asking for a job she hired her, taking no matter of her skin color or the toddler she had with her. The woman could bake fairly well, she knew how to make a pie crust and meringues, and she knew the difference between baking power and baking soda.

Linnet hired her on the spot.

"Can you start now?" she asked the woman, who had said her name was Annaele Tllie. Annaele shrugged. "If I can find a place to put my bag and my baby, yes."

Linnet shrugged, "There is a room upstairs that I use for keeping bakery supplies, you can put your two bags up there. The boy can stay here as long as he keeps more or less out of the way. Does he have a name?"

"Liir," she said softly. "His name is Liir." Liir nodded and showed off his teeth in a happy smile.

"Who is the father?" Linnet asked Annaele.

Elphaba was suddenly hit with memories she'd tried to suppress. "Dead," she said shortly. And that was that. She put her bags upstairs in the room Linnet had spoken of, and put on an apron. Linnet showed her an order form, a simple cake. She mixed and folded and poured and stirred, keeping her hands and mind busy.

When they took a break for lunch, the older woman sat her down with a buttered roll and a sliced tomato to start with and interrogated Elphaba.

"Where are you from originally?" she asked. Elphaba took a bite of the roll, swallowed, and answered.

"Munchkinland," she said. "Nest Hardings, to be more specific. Than I went to Shiz." Linnet nodded and asked another question.

"How did you come here?" she asked.

"That's a bit of a longer story," Elphaba told her. "I dropped out of Shiz after a teacher was some say, murdered. I sort of drifted around the Emerald City for a few years and then eventually I ran into Liir's father. I had known him back at college. We had a tryst for a while. I became pregnant right before he was killed. I didn't find out for a long time, not until a few days before Liir's birth.

"How-" Linnet asked, and Elphaba cut her off with a hand. She revised the next part, embellishing the truth and editing out details.

"I had went back to our, well, mine really, the apartment on Lurlinemas Eve and found the floor covered in blood. From what I'd found out later it was a mistaken raid by the Gale Force. They had meant the place next to mine, that I would find out later. He walked in, meaning to surprise me with a few unnecessary presents. They attacked. I just saw blood, all this blood. I didn't know what was going on, I was feeling sick and dizzy probably from the baby and I fainted. Then I woke up a little while later, covered in his blood and threw up on the floor. I- I just left and went to a mauntery where I knew I could sleep safely and I think I hoped to forget."

Linnet motioned for her to go on and added another roll, this time with lettuce, to Elphaba's plate. "Eat up, Annaele, you're far too thin."

Elphaba accepted the food and went on.

"I apparently fell into a coma for a little under eight months. I woke up a few days before Liir's birth, like I've said. I was _so _confused, and I refused to believe that _I _was going to be a mother- I told myself I didn't deserve anything of the sort. But then I gave birth, and I still only partially accepted it. Then after two years I left the mauntery with Liir and finally named him, when he called me Mama. And here I am."

"Oh," was all that Linnet said. "Do you have a place to stay?"

Elphaba, Liir clinging to her skirts, shook her head. Well, Linnet thought, that was something she could do for the poor unfortunate girl.

"Stay upstairs," she said. "In the room that you have your bags in. You'll have to share it with flour and baking stuffs but there's an old bed I have and I'm sure we can dig out some things from my attic. My rooms are out back, so normally I can start the bread in the mornings but since you'll be close you and me can alternate. Alright?"

Elphaba nodded and thanked the woman for her kindness. She finished her lunch she'd been given, cleaned up and went back to work.

Maybe, just maybe this could work out.

**Reviews are nice. I would like a beta if you want to offer PM or email me. Email's in my profile. **


	2. Chapter 2

**And here is chapter two. Thanks to Kennedy Leigh Morgan for becoming my beta for this. gives her a round of applause Anyways. Onwards, but before that thank you for all the reviews!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Oz, Elphaba, or any of this. I am just using the characters because I'm a fan. Rights belong to Gregory Maguire. **

She was working more or less mechanically by then, her mind running at a speed faster than her hands. Thinking about the conversation she'd had with Linnet. Lurline, that had been stupid. If Linnet read newspapers and broadsides or gossiped with neighbors (and she was sure that she did) maybe she would know about Elphaba the Terrorist girl. At least she hadn't said Fiyero's name. And she had hopefully covered up any gaps in the tale. But she wasn't normally so open. Maybe it was the relief that she felt now that she was away from it all. Maybe it was because she sensed that Linnet Shenn was the type of woman who could see through lies, even lies as well formed as the ones Elphaba told and that Linnet would push and push her if all she had said was that he was dead. And then maybe she would accidentally spill the real story, just to get her off her back. Although she was stronger than that she hoped, but not as strong as she first was when she joined the Resistance. Fiyero had softened her up at bit, she had tried so hard not to fall in love with him, just to have sex and not make love with him but in the end it hadn't worked. Elphie shook her head and blinked away a tear. She had never cried much before. If this was what love did to people, maybe it was _good _that Fiyero was dead.

Hopefully her employer would drop it; she needed no sympathy right now. In the mauntery she had almost been able to forget herself to an extent. She would had been able to fully retreat and just become the nameless green girl if not for Liir... and where was he? She had tied him to the cord looped loosely around her waist with another cord, and it was still there- oh. He was hiding behind her skirts as there was a customer at the counter, filling out an order form. She'd probably have to look at that later. But for now she could keep on cracking eggs to add to a huge cake for some society party.

From the tension on the string binding Liir she realized that he had sat down. She bent over with her eggy hands and asked him if he wanted something to play with. He nodded and shoved his index and middle finger in his mouth and sucked on them. She gave him a few toy blocks of wood from the mauntery that she had extracted from her bags when she put them upstairs.

Liir attended to, Elphaba went back to the eggs. Crack, split. It was a pattern, a gooey one. Her mind kept wandering as she stopped with the eggs according to the recipe and went on with the sugar. How large would this cake be anyway? Doubtless when it was iced it would look like on of Glinda's formal dresses that took up half the closet in Shiz. Pink and frilly, although the cake wouldn't be frilly. Glinda's dresses usually were.

Everywhere she went in her mind there were memories. Even while _baking a cake_. The sad get sadder, the tired get tireder, the weary get wearier, and the green only get greener. Elphaba grinned mirthlessly. On the floor Liir banged two blocks together, denting the bright colors that had been painted on to them. That was getting annoying, him playing drums with his toys. She quickly toweled the egg on her hands off with a dry cloth and scooped Liir up.

"Time for a nap," she told him. He squinted and scowled at her.

"No." Liir said, and then yawned.

"I regret the day you learned to speak," Elphaba said to him half fondly and half annoyed, and carried him upstairs.

"Liir, it is _time _for a nap. And if you say no again I'll..." She didn't need to carry through with her threat. He was already asleep on her shoulder, thumb and index finger in his mouth. She felt some odd sort of feeling inside her chest and set him down on the pallet then covered him with a blanket. Elphaba remembered the cord attaching them on her belt and untied it. She walked back downstairs to the store slowly and quietly so to not disturb her son.

Her son. That would take some getting used to, acknowledging it like that. Saying that she was a mother.

That almost made her laugh out loud. She could see so many others as parents, and some people from Shiz must be married by now. She knew Glinda was, to some palace baronet. Fiyero had told her, but hadn't said if she was a mother. She had asked though. Glinda, Glinda she could easily see as a mother. She would be a warm pink ball of motherly fluff, coddling and loving her child almost to death. Unlike herself, Elphaba mused. She was completely unfeeling sometimes. She hadn't even accepted to herself that Liir was her son, Fiyero's son, a being that they had created together. Liir had become something to her when _he_ told her who she was. His mother. And she had seen that, she had seen it and in response she had given him a name.

She shook her head, feeling a strand of hair that had escaped from the tight bun she had put it in hit the side of her face. She absentmindedly tucked it behind an ear. As soon as she saw Linnet she asked her a question that had been on her mind for a while.

"What's that cake for anyways?"

Linnet, who had been pouring over the order forms, looked up.

"Hm?" she said. "Oh. It's for some stockholder or shareholder meeting. That cake is for the party afterwards. Lady Glinda herself has been invited- her husband, Lord Chuffrey, is hosting the meeting. They have a little house- that's not right, they have a mansion somewhere here. And of course Lady Glinda is originally from Gillikin. Frottica, isn't it? Well. Annaele, I have invitations for myself and any employees. So you're coming."

Elphaba didn't want to go, and she also gave a start at the sound of the false name she'd given her employer.. "Must I? I mean, I just started here today. I'm not positive that qualifies, you know"

Linnet chuckled. "It's a society party, think of the food and fashions that we'll see and in case of the food, eat! Besides, it's not for another few days, so you can go out shopping for a dress if you need one. Perhaps something with a bit of color? Something other than black?"

"Black doesn't clash with my skin as much as some other colors do," Elphaba pointed out. Linnet waved that away.

"This is Gillikin, my dear. I'm sure that you can find something appropriate! This might be a fairly small village but we still have some of the best dress shops around!"

Elphaba still preferred black.

"I should get back to the cake," she said. "If the event it's for is so fancy and important I shouldn't just keep talking to you," she finished, abruptly ending the conversation that had been starting. Linnet shrugged and turned back to the orders; Elphaba went back over to the cake and started stirring in sugar again. Her back was turned to Linnet or she would have seen the contemplative look the other woman gave her.

In truth, Linnet was confused by the woman. She had a bit of a tragic past and she was as green as grass. With skin like that it must have been difficult. And Annaele was from Munchkinland with its people quite a superstitious lot. It wouldn't have been easy. But the woman was so _odd_. A good worker from what she could see, but most conversation barely got started before it was stopped.

Downstairs, Elphaba and Linnet worked at respectively baking and reading forms. Upstairs, curled up on a pallet, Liir dreamed.

_There was a man with diamonds on his skin and his mama together with a white and black cat. Mama gave out some milk to the cat but it turned away after a few licks at the dish the milk was in. Mama got some food down for the diamond man and they talked but Liir couldn't hear what they were saying. He looked around and saw a skull with flowers and that frightened him, in his dream. He tried to get away from the scary skull but instead the room with his mama and the other person faded away. He didn't, and next there was a cell with bars over the window. There was a man in it, was it the same man he wondered? The man in the cell, whomever he was, was sad. Liir wanted to help him but then he woke up._

When she finished working for the day, Elphaba realized that she needed to get food. Linnet's house was "out back", or behind a few hedges, another cottage, and stone walls. There might be a garden too. She would have to start the bread in the morning, then. But first would come dinner. Liir was half awake next to her. She gently prodded him in the arm to wake him.

"Liir, we're going out to buy food," Elphaba said. "Did you have a nice nap?" He nodded and blinked sleepily.

"I told that it was good for you, Liir. That's why you listen to me, see?" She picked him up with a slight grunt. "Come on, we're going out." He nodded and Elphie put his shoes on and then slipped into hers, which she had kicked off a few minutes ago. It was fairly warm out, so at least she didn't need her cloak and her son didn't need his jacket. She walked down the stairs again with some money in her pocket. Elphaba then put Liir down, she knew that he could walk and didn't need to be carried, but he pouted and reached his arms back up towards her.

"No," Elphaba told him, crouching next to Liir at his eye level. "You're too heavy now for that. I can't carry you long distances. You can walk." She straightened up and started to walk out of the bakery. Liir followed her on his chubby legs, still pouting at Elphie's back.

She strode purposefully, catching attention from other villagers even though she was trying not to. But there was something about Elphaba that caught you and pulled you in. Was her it skin or her own odd sort of charisma? But people looked at the green woman and the normal colored little boy besides her. Some turned away, and some stared at the two. Elphaba didn't take notice of it, she was used to that sort of thing. People had stared at her all her life because of her skin tone. That was the one thing that she had liked about the Emerald City- sometimes she could easily lose herself in the crowd, especially during Ozian festivals. _Everything _was green right then and there. People would just assume that she was, oh, very into the spirit of things. They didn't know that she was working against them and their _wonderful _Wizard.

But that was then, when she had been whole. Had she been a whole person then? She had had fervor and fire but what was she doing? Helping to blow up things and conspiring to kill authority figures. But what had she really been doing? Was the Resistance still active without their Fae? But no, she wasn't _their _Fae; she was Fiyero's Fae. Elphaba sighed. Why couldn't she just be no one's, belong to no one, not be Glinda's friend Elphie or Frex's daughter Fabala or Fiyero's lover Fae or Liir's Mama-

No, not that last one. Liir needed a mother, needed someone to watch over him and to protect him. And she would do that. Maybe she could stop being Elphie and Fabala and Fae but she would stay Mama for Liir.

After all, he was also Fiyero's son and she loved Fiyero, had let herself fall in love with him. She loved him too much, she thought. And if this were a way to honor him, looking after his son then she would do that for him.

But it's not all for him, a part of her said. Liir is half of you too. So can't part of this be for you? Honoring your son? He's not only Fiyero, you gave birth to him. Liir is both of you.

_Very well,_ Elphaba decided, _I'll honor us both. I'll do this for Fiyero and me. And Liir, of course. I'll try to stay strong for Liir. _

She leaned over and picked up Liir. Maybe she could carry him after all. He sighed contentedly at this act his mother did and once again put his thumb in his mouth and sucked on it. Elphaba found this disgusting but said and did nothing. She stopped briefly and cuddled him close to her, earning an approving look from a grandmotherly looking lady who was sitting on a bench nearby and then continued walking towards the shop Linnet said had groceries. Both she and Liir would have to eat.

**Thoughts? Questions? Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three. Hurrah. I like this chapter personally. I like sticking in cameos from the musical, just realized, although this is bookverse. Anyways, here we go again. Thank you to my beta, Kennedy Leigh Morgan, and reviewers.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Oz, nor the characters of Glinda, Elphaba, and Liir. I only own my OCs. I don't even own the hat. Hope that you enjoy the fanfic!**

Arynna Zien was extremely bored. She had taken this job as a way to earn money to go to Shiz University, since her scholarship didn't cover the entire tuition and most girls from little Gillikinese villages didn't have rich families. Lady Glinda Chuffrey was the one exception. But was it to much to expect something interesting to happen? Dena had been working down at some fancy dress shop and _she _said that there was a catfight over some pink taffeta gown. Two débutantes who were, as Dena said, very overeager.

But no. Arynna was stuck stocking shelves and bagging things for the inhabitants of her home village. It paid fairly well, she would probably be able to go to college next year if she didn't get fired or her place of employment didn't burn down (although that _would _be exciting, although unfortunate for her schooling prospects). But really, was it to much to ask for something _scandalacious _to happen? She wouldn't be at all adverse to a handsome male rogue coming in and sweeping her off her feet and then repenting his evil ways out of love for her.

Like that would ever happen. Her head jerked up from the copy of Ozmopolitan that she was reading.

"Hello?" Arynna said, remembering her employer telling her to always greet customers nicely. "Um. How will I help you?"

The figure in the doorway, keeping one hand supporting the toddler in her arms, closed the door and stepped into a better light. "Technically it is how _may _I help you, since I have given no notion that I wanted your help. But thank you, I suppose."

Arynna didn't respond, for she was too busy staring at the strange woman. The strange green woman. "Ur..."

"Do you work here?" the woman asked. "I need to buy food, although that should be obvious." She set down the boy, who whimpered slightly.

"No," she told him. "I carried you all the way here and you're heavy." She got up. "So. Miss...?"

"Zien, Arynna Zien," Arynna told the the woman. "Are you really- really truly-actually"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Green? Yes, I am really really truly actually green. Where is your oatmeal?" She rolled her eyes.

Arynna pointed towards a shelf near a back window. "Over there, um, Ms...?" As Elphaba had done before, she too trailed off for the other girl's name.

"Annaele, Annaele Tllie. Thank you." Elphaba grasped Liir's hand and went in the direction of Arynna's pointing finger. She found the oatmeal, got noodles and some oranges. Milk, too, hopefully she could use it before it went bad She walked back over, grabbing a few other sundry items and then paid. As she left, Arynna Zien stared.

A green woman might bring some sort of drama. Maybe it was a good thing she was here and not at the dress shop like she had longed to be minutes before.

Elphaba walked out, annoyed at the girl who was minding the shop. She was gawking at her like she was an exhibit in a zoo, like she was an interesting plaything for the girl's amusement. She held Liir's hand in her right and the bag of groceries in her left.

They got back and Elphaba was tired. Liir wasn't, not as much as she was. He had had a nap and he hadn't been working all day. When she lay down on her bed Liir lay down next to her and with his little arms tried to hug her.

She turned away from him and felt horrible for doing so.

Two days later, as Elphaba was pounding bread dough with a fist instead of kneading it, Linnet came up to her and waved a pink envelope in her face.

"Remember that cake that you're working on, on and off?" Elphaba nodded. "Yes, it's over there."

"Good," the other woman said. "Well, the party after the meeting is tomorrow and you are invited- not to the meeting, of course! I think that I told you this, you know. Do you have something to wear?"

Elphie shook her head. "I really would prefer not to go."

"Well, you are," Linnet said. "I want you to, and you'll need to field questions from all the society ladies about what's in the cake. I will be busy trying to make connections and possibly more orders."

"No," Elphaba said simply. "I have nothing to wear besides black clothing, half of it mauntish, and I doubt all the society ladies would want to see _that _sort of thing in their fancy midst. Not frilly enough. _I'm _not frilly enough."

That was true. Elphaba was made up of harsh angles and bony limbs. She was sharp and pointed, in both her looks and her manner.

"Well, we'll go out shopping in a little bit." Linnet said. "I know a place with reasonable prices, so I think you can afford to get something. I'm sure that out there is a dress that will look good on you. But first you need to finish the icing, right? And then there's some pastries to make for it too."

Elphaba smiled and picked up the frosting tube. "No," she said. "I don't need a dress." She paused for a few moments, dragging out the suspense. "All I need is a hat."

"A hat?" asked Linnet, confused.

"A hat," Elphaba confirmed, and nodded. Liir nodded along with her. "A hat." Then she looked up.

"At this party- what am I going to do about Liir?" she gestured down at the boy.

"Oh," Linnet said. "Well, I suppose that he could come along." At that, Elphaba raised her eyebrows. "He's two. I don't want him at parties or anything of the sort."

"Then I'll see if a neighbor can take him."

Elphaba, out of excuses, sighed and nodded.

They went to the dress store, her and Liir. Elphaba had told Linnet that she was perfectly capable of picking out a hat by herself, and went an hour after their conversation, during her lunch time. She walked down a path again, how many paths were _in _the village anyway? There was a milliner somewhere. She found the shop and walked in.

The milliner, a round woman around fifty came out from behind the counter.

"Anything you need, poppet?" she asked over her rather garish pink bejeweled spectacles. Elphaba nodded.

"A hat." she said. "Something that's fancy and matches a black dress and blue scarf."

A blue Vinkusian scarf Fiyero had bought her, blue with a winding black patterned vine on it,

"And a veil or some netting of some sort attached." Elphaba added on hastily.

"I can see _why_," the woman remarked. Ephaba ignored the remark at her skin. "And I have just the thing," said the shopkeeper. "Well, depending on the looks of your dress of course."

"High necked, full sleeves, brocade fabric for the bodice, some lace mostly toward the waistline and on the skirt," Elphaba rattled off. "I got it at a place called Arly's Dresses in the Emerald City, if that helps at all."

"Not really," said the woman. "But I think that this hat will work out fine for you, my poppet."

She bustled around behind the counter and eventually came up with a tall pointed hat. The brim was bereft of anything but a small black bow, and there was layers of fine netting hanging off the brim of the hat. Elphaba tried it on and had a strange want to cackle.

"Well, it looks fine on you dear, so shall I ring it up?" the woman asked, noticing her nod. Elphaba grinned sharply.

"Yes, do that please."

After she paid for the hat, she grabbed the bag and walked out with Liir. "Well, good_bye _then dearie," said the milliner in a disapproving way. Honestly, people these days.

Elphaba was back at Linnet's Bakery within ten minutes of quick walking and nagging Liir to keep up. "May I see what you bought?" Linnet asked. Elphaba took the hat out of the bag and then the box without any flourish whatsoever.

"Here it is," she said, holding it up by the tip. "I quite like it, even if you don't." Linnet did have an odd look on her face.

"It's, it's interesting," the other woman managed. It _was_ interesting. The hat wasn't pretty, but definitely unique. Elphaba sighed and rolled her eyes. She rearranged her hands so that they were both holding onto the brim and placed the hat on her head. Linnet had to admit that when it was on her, it looked much better. Elphaba pulled down the netting, and Linnet had to rephrase her previous statement. It looked quite elegant on her at least. It suited the girl's overall pointiness.

"It'll do," she said. "Of course, what I am wearing is a bit more traditional." She went out to her house for a while to get her hat to show it off to her employee. Elphaba picked up the frosting tube and began to make the little rosettes, hoping that she wouldn't screw up. Liir, as always, was playing with his blocks.

About a half hour later Linnet came back in, clutching a yellow _thing_.

"What is that?" Elphaba asked disgustedly. Linnet raised her eyebrows.

"My hat, Miss Tllie."

"Of course," Elphaba said. "What does it look like on?" She dearly hoped that she wouldn't laugh as Linnet placed the hat on her head. It was a sight, that hat, yellow with all three of the things Elphaba thought were a crime to have on hats- fake cherries, fake flowers, and a little fake bird.

"It's very- very Gillikinese," she managed to say.

"I know," Linnet said. "It was a present, a thank you gift, from a lady who's wedding I catered. The very height of style, I must tell you, the height of it."

Now Elphaba arched her brows. "Of course, even I can see that." _see that hideous monstrosity,_ she said to herself and almost laughed. Shaking her head, she finished the last of the pink iced roses on the bottom tier and moved on to the middle. Linnet got a spoon and yellow icing and started covering the bare cake on the top. They worked like this until the cake was finished and it was time to clean up.

"You can go," Elphaba said. "I think I can get it all by myself." Linnet shrugged, nodded, and smiled.

"Alright, Annaele" she said, leaving out the front door. On her way out Elphaba saw her flip the open sign over so it read closed. She began cleaning up, dusting flour off counters and cleaning dishes. Linnet had a pair of glove like things to wear so the hot water wouldn't burn, thank god. Although in her case it wasn't just the hot water, all water burned.

She wondered half amusedly if too much water would make her melt.

An hour later the bakery was clean enough for the next day, and Elphaba and Liir could go upstairs to their little home. Almost like the corn exchange, she thought, and then winced and picked up Liir, who needed a bath. She had nicked the gloves for washing dishes from downstairs, made of that weird water resistant stuff, so she could bathe him. "Thank Oz that you don't splash," she muttered to him. He squirmed. "And yes, you are taking a bath."

Liir shook his head. Elphaba sighed and quirked her lips. "I don't care whether you want it or not, you need it and heaven help you if you splash me this time."

She plunked him down in the smallish tub that took forever to fill, cursing the quality of running water that she got, although at least she got some and this time it was hot. Elphie put on the gloves and soaped up Liir, warning not to splash again.

After she had toweled Liir off, she pulled out her dress from her second bag. Elphaba tried it on, and put the hat on. She found the scarf in the bottom of the bag, wadded up. Smoothing it out, she tied it around her waist and gasped slightly. It was a different scarf but he had still bought it for her... and besides, it was also her only scarf that was blue. She liked the blue color, and Elphaba wanted to add some color to her outfit. Black did get slightly tedious, but at least it didn't clash with her skin like most other colors. And since the green hue of her skin would be hidden, the blue scarf would most likely look fine.

She untied the scarf and threaded it through her arms, their thinness hidden by the heavy sleeves, then dropped it. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and couldn't resist a snort, without the netting hanging down from the pointed hat she looked like a Wicked Witch.

She pulled the netting down over her face and was finally satisfied with her appearance except for her hair. The bun she kept it in while working looked bad, but she didn't just want to let it hang loose over her shoulders. Glinda had told her once it looked good like that but she had never taken the blonde girl's advice. It was in her face then, annoying and blocking her peripheral vision half the time. But Elphaba realized that with her hair down like that there was even less of a chance of someone- her former roommate in particular- recognizing her. With the high necked black dress, the veiled hat, and her hair she would be mostly covered, her skin in particular would be mostly covered.

She looked at her self in the mirror again with pursed lips. In all her dark finery she realized she could stick out like a sore thumb among the Gillikinese society ladies, them in pink and blue and light, light green. She had seen Linnet's monstrosity of a hat. She would assume that the wealthier that you got, the more hideous your clothing was too.

With some trepidation on her part she picked up the scarf from where it had been flung across the bed a few moments before and tied it around her waist again. Threading it through her arms, while a lovely effect, was a pain. And she did want to add some color.

"Ah well," Elphaba said aloud. "At least the scarf isn't green."

** Bit abrupt, but it leads into the next chapter. Hope that you all liked. Read, review?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to Kennedy Leigh Morgan for beta-ing this. This _is _the final version (unless of course, one of you readers sees some hideous, horrible mistake, in which case tell me please) and should hopefully have little to no mistakes. I'm sorry if you had to deal with an un edited chapter, but I hoped that you all liked it anyways. So, again, sorry for the break although I said that I would update a least once a week. Yeah, no excuses. (Why am I uploading this at 1 am?) So, I hope you enjoy and I hope this version's better.  
**

**This chapter has Glinda. And Crope (but not Tibbett, sadly) because I adore them. I hope you enjoy it, however finished that it may be.**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked, the characters in it, or anything else of the world Gregory Maguire created. I don't claim to own it, that's why this is here. This is a work of fan fiction for entertainment only. **

** Please enjoy. And review if you do!  
**

That next morning, Elphaba got up earlier than usual. She would, firstly, have to dress up in different clothes than normal. Mostly she wore the plain frocks that she'd had in the mauntery with an apron over it because of flour and all the other baking materials. Today was different, of course. Thank Oz that the cake had been brought over to wherever the thing was by some servants employed by whomever was hosting it, she couldn't imagine hauling the delicacy over,

She slipped on the dress, where it had been hanging on a peg and tucked the hat (she really liked that hat) and her blue scarf into a bag. Elphaba then picked up Liir, who had awoken when she had, and whispered to him, "You're going out today, Liir, if Linnet's neighbor can watch you. Alright, dearie?" Liir nodded and sucked on his first three fingers. Elphaba sighed- she hated that habit of his- but let it go again. He might grow out of it soon.

So she picked him up, grunting a bit at his weight. "We're going downstairs," Elphaba said, and Liir nodded again. Linnet was waiting downstairs, as was a carriage and various small pastries and other baked goods as smaller snacks for the rich Gillikinese.

As she descended the stairs Elphaba caught a glimpse of Linnet and had a really hard time suppressing a giggle. The woman was in a lemon yellow tea gown, bedecked with false leaves and berries on the trimmings. Her hat matched, with a stuffed bird and cherries. She also had gems, most of which Elphaba was sure were false paste or glass. The entire effect was stunning, but not in the way one might say Glinda was stunning. (She might actually look decent in that outfit, her youth contributing to the fact). It was, Elphaba decided, more of a look that would literally stun you. With the yellow brightness, all those damned leaves and cherries, and just the overall hideousness.

"You look, you look nice." she managed to say. "It's quite bright."

Linnet preened. "Why thank you, Miss Annaele. You look very fascinating yourself."

Elphaba arched an eyebrow. "Fascinating? Do tell."

Linnet was stumbling over her words slightly, intimidated by the green younger woman. "I mean- it's just- I wasn't insulting you, you look quite nice."

Elphaba shrugged. "Well, at least I can achieve that then." Her tone was light this time around. "Who is the neighbor taking Liir again? I'm not sure I remember."

Linnet looked worried. "Oh, Miss Annaele, I'm sorry to say that Miss Fenna, who had so kindly volunteered to take your son, is sick. We'll have to take him along. He's able to behave, right?"

"He will if I tell him too," Elphaba said sourly. Oz knew she'd like to get Liir out of her hair for a while. Two-year-olds were exhausting. Linnet came over to her and gave her a friendly, clammy pat on the hand.

"Follow me to the carriage," her employer said. "The cake and goods are already loaded up."

"Well, that's good at least." Elphaba stated plainly, her tone and posture saying clearly that she wanted to be alone. Liir was settled on her hip, although she didn't look exactly pleased he was coming along.

Once again, Linnet wondered what had been left out of the outline to the other woman's life. She knew things, but how did they fit together. The green girl was a puzzle. They climbed into the carriage, Elphaba pressing herself stiffly into a corner of the thing, half hidden by the cake box. Linnet's skirt took up much of the opposite seat, and her hat that she had laid down occupied the remaining space. Elphie was much happier squished by the sugary confections with the boy sitting on her lap.

This day marked Glinda's second week in Gillikin. She had spent time with her mother and father while Chuffrey stayed at his mansion and had meetings and other dabblings in the money world of Oz. Her parents became slightly tiresome at times, although she did love them. So Glinda was back to being a socialite wife.

She woke up and rang for the maid, gazing at her huge closet. There was some sort of meeting party thingy she had to attend. She was looking forward to the second part, there would be other ladies (not all of them tiresome windbags, she hoped) and Crope was willing to be dragged along somehow, probably because of the food that was going to be served or something.

She was still waiting for the maid, where was the girl anyways? Glinda twirled a golden curl around her index finger and contemplated the tiara like headpieces lined up on a shelf. One had garnets; she rather liked that one. Then there was the thing she'd worn at her wedding; that had the veil attached. It wouldn't do.

There was a knock at the door; _there _was the maid.

"Come in," Glinda said, still absently staring. The handmaid, a youngish Munchkinlander called Reen, curtsied.

"Good morning, my lady," she said.

Glinda responded in kind. "Good morning to you, child," although the girl wasn't much younger than she was. Reen followed her gaze to the tiaras and then the dresser.

"Oh, yes, you need a dress for today, right my lady?"

Glinda nodded. "Something cheery, I would think."

"Of course," Reen said. "How about something in a spring color, yellow or green? Perhaps pale blue? My lady, will that suit you?"

"Yes," Glinda said. "It'll work, Reen."

Reen pulled out a light green dress with a vine pattern on the bodice, capped sleeves, and a bell shaped skirt.

"That's a lovely dress," Glinda told the girl. "I don't remember buying it, though."

Reen shrugged, and then remembered it was _Glinda _she was talking too.

"I'm not sure either, my lady. Perhaps a gift."

"Perhaps," Glinda agreed.

She started dressing with her usual assistance from Reen. The green reminded her of Elphie. She missed her dear friend so, wherever had she disappeared to? After Shiz, and that meeting with the Wizard. She shook her head, somewhat troubled.

"My lady, I think that you need to go." Reen had finished with the intricate lacing on the back of the gown and had arranged her curls and such since Glinda had been thinking in that haze.

"Oh. Yes, of course. Thank you, Reen."

"My pleasure, my lady." Reen curtsied and left. Glinda sighed. Time to go, thank gods Crope was here at the Chuffrey place, and meetings and parties and all. Elphie would hate it. She smiled wanly and started making her way downstairs.

Elphaba, in fact, was in quite a sour mood. Her hat was doing its job and disguising most of her face. She had fished out gloves to wear for serving food, and in the fancy dimming lighting she looked fairly normal. She was on a break now, so she had Liir in her arms. He was asleep again, his first finger and thumb in his mouth. She heard a coo at the boy from her right.

"His name is Liir," she said in response to the coo and tried to walk off but some middle-aged woman had a firm grip on her arm.

"Why, he's adorable," she said. "So sweet and innocent, don't you think?"

"Yes," Elphaba said and tried to smile. It didn't work, she already didn't like the woman and she wasn't good at lying, she despised lying. Lying like the Wizard did. "I have to go, I am working as you may know and not on a break, so thank you." She said and stalked away, her black skirts rippling in her wake.

She had never cared much of what others thought of her, anyways.

She knew that Glinda was there somewhere and was trying to avoid her. Thank Oz the woman had not gone near the cake yet, preferring (from what she could see) to nibble on pastries that were set out at intervals. Elphaba groaned slightly, she had been carrying Liir for quite a while now. She could put him back with the staff in the servant quarters; they hadn't minded taking him. The head maid was very motherly and had called Elphaba a "poor dear" a few times. Elphaba had smiled and nodded and left Liir there. Time to bring him back.

Crope, bored by the conversation (if you could call it that) had wandered off to a corner of the room. He had a cup of coffee with him and a slice of that huge cake in a hand and was quite content just leaning against the wall, watching the people. Suddenly he jolted to the side.

"Sorry," said the woman who'd just bumped into him.

She had a baby on her hip. "My fault," she turned to leave.

"Wait a moment," he said, peering at the woman closer. She was swathed in black, a sharply pointed hat on her head with a veil covering her face. Her sleeves were long and the dress had a high neckline and brocaded bodice. It was a pretty dress. Its purpose was to cover her, he guessed, and it was doing its job quite well. But there was still _something_ about her that he recognized.

"I know you," Crope said. "Don't I?" He shrugged and although he couldn't see it, Elphaba scowled.

"No," she said, although she was lying through her teeth. She and Crope knew each other quite well, from that summer researching for Doctor Dillamond. How she'd love to continue his work.

"Yes, I do," he said, his nose in her face. He thought he saw green through all that damned netting. Green... Elphaba. "Miss Elphaba?" he asked.

"Again, no." said the figure. "The name is Miss Annaele, not this Elphaba that you talk of. Will you please let me through so I can go put my child where he needs to be? You are in the way."

All right, that clinched it. He knew it was Elphaba then, the sharp manner practically proved it.

"I say, it is you!" he said gaily. "Wonderful seeing you here, although I didn't know that you had any interest in stocks and the like. I'm only here to keep Glinda company, you know. Why are you here? And I didn't remember any talk of you having a child. We all miss you terribly, poor Tibbett, Glinda, Fiyero though I haven't seen him for ages, and Boq and the rest, except maybe Avaric. How are you, Miss Elphaba?"

"I'm fine," she said quietly. "Crope, Fiyero's dead. The reason you never heard anything about Liir is because I tried- and until right now was quite successful- to disappear. And you will _not _tell Glinda I'm here. I'm here because I made the cake, alright? Now let go of my arm."

He loosed his grip on her arm. "Fiyero's dead? When did that happen?"

"A while ago," she said, looking down. "He's been dead for a long while. A few years"

"How?" Crope asked. "Poor Fiyero."

"Gale Force," she said. "And I really need to put Liir away now."

Liir. He indicated Liir with his free hand.

"How old is your son? Who's the father? And aren't you awfully young, Elphie? What are you, twenty five?"

"Don't call me Elphie," she snapped at him. "Liir is two, his father is dead, and I am fine thank you very much."

He held up a hand to calm her down.

"He's adorable. The father's dead, who's the father, I never heard you were married either- oh." Something came together in his mind, Elphaba's look when he mentioned Fiyero, the dates adding up.

"Wasn't Fiyero married?" he asked her. "To Sarima, I think her name was?"

"That doesn't stop two adults from having an affair." she said. "And it certainly doesn't stop those two adults from accidentally conceiving a child together, does it? And now that you've pestered me enough, will you finally let me by?"

He moved out of her way. "Elphaba, sweet Lurline, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she said. ""It was my fault."

"What?" he said, but Elphaba ignored that. She moved to leave but Glinda, come to visit Crope in his hidey-hole, had spotted her.

_Too late_, Elphaba thought,and_ shit_.

"Elphie!" the blonde woman squealed before she could help herself. She rushed over and started to give Elphaba a hug, and then realized that Liir was in her way.

"Oh, oops," she said. "Who's this?" Glinda asked.

"My son Liir," Elphaba said. "Must we go all through this again?" she asked. "I was already interrogated by Crope here. Glinda..." she set Liir down for a moment and gave Glinda a proper hug.

"It's nice to see you," Elphaba said. "And I'm sorry for leaving you in the Emerald City. It was a good thing to do and a bad thing. I can regret it at times."

"Why?" Glinda asked curiously.

Elphaba looked down at Liir, and then up.

"I have to go," she said. "Now."

Glinda didn't argue, but asked her one question. "When can I see you again?" She asked. "I want to see you again."

Elphaba sighed. "Maybe never. Maybe soon. Glinda, I _have to go_." She tried to leave, but Glinda had grabbed her.

"Where are you staying? Elphie, I want to see you. I want to know what you've been doing for the last seven years."

"You can't," Elphaba said. She walked towards the stairs, having picked up Liir again. "I'm sorry, but I'm safer this way. And so are you, too." She left down the stairs.

"Is she gone?" Glinda asked Crope sadly. He shook his head. "She'll probably be back. I asked, she's not here a guest. She's here because of the bakery. If she manages to slip out from under your nose, contact the bakery that did the catering."

She hadn't thought of that. "I'll do that," Glinda said. "Thank you."

Crope grinned. "No problem. I always liked Miss Elphie. That summer when we all researched, I and Tibbett and Boq, we learned a lot."

Glinda nodded. "I miss her. She was my best friend, did you know? But then, then things happened."

"The Emerald City?" Crope asked. "Elphaba said so."

"Yes," Glinda said. "She had to do what she thought was right, and I guess that was it. Although I never expected that Elphie'd be a mother."

"I don't think that it was planned," Crope told her. "She's not married."

"Oh," Glinda said, looking at where Elphaba had went. "Then who?"

"Fiyero," he said, grinning slightly. "Remember when we ran into him and his dozen scarves that time? They were for her, and you said that he'd be having an affair because he was so happy. Fiyero's dead," Crope ended his sentence sadly.

"Oh," Glinda said. "Poor Elphaba. I don't think things turned out how she wanted, what she thought, anything."

"No," Crope said. "Lady Glinda, is there any liquor at this party of yours?" She shrugged.

"I don't know. I need to find the caterer, I need Elphie," she said. She did need Elphaba. She'd missed her horribly when she had been left alone at Shiz with only Nessa for company.

"She's alive, thank Oz, and I need to talk her at least." There was an empty light in Glinda's eyes.

Crope nodded, and she walked out.

Sometimes Glinda was like a small child, in a way. She needed something to hold onto. In this case, it was her best friend, who had been restored to her just now. And she intended to keep it that way.


	5. Chapter 5

**Yep, finally. I was banned from my computer at home, so this was done during school. Sorry about thescrewed up formatting- Word's fault. This is unbetaed, I"ll upload that version later. All mistakes are totally mine, and sorry!**

**Anyways, I don't own Wicked at all, nor do I own Elphaba. I do own Nettle. But I'm not sure of the worth of that. I hope that you like it... **

Elphaba was good at several things. She was quite good at making  
biting sarcastic remarks. She excelled at schoolwork. She wasn't good at  
magic and she would be one of the first people to say that. But she  
was also quite good at running and hiding. And so she ran. Oh, she stayed the mercifully short hours left of the party, dished  
out food, cleaned it all up. But she stuck to the shadows, slid about  
the walls and turned away whenever someone tried to look her directly in  
the eye. As soon as she could leave, she left. She didn't go in the  
carriage with Linnet and her pointed questions; she walked the entire  
way with Liir.

What an odd figure they made, an angular green woman draped in blacks  
with a tall pointed hat and a little chubby boy grasping her by the  
hand, walking along foresty, tree-lined paths to avoid human or Animal  
contact. But she made it, well, home more or less safely. She went in  
the store, past Linnet's confused face, and up to her rooms. And there  
she cried, taking no notice of the slight stinging pain on her cheeks  
that it brought. Liir pressed his hand into hers and Elphaba cried  
more, confused about whom she was and what she wanted to be. She fell asleep that way, and the next morning she awoke to curious  
blue eyes standing over her. She checked that Liir was still by her, and he was. It couldn't be  
Fiyero... it wouldn't be no matter how hard she wished it so. No, she  
made out a pale face and yellow curls. "Glinda." Elphie said. The blonde woman pulled her off the bed and  
tried to hug her. Elphaba attempted to resist. "No," she said. "Not  
now." "Yes, now," Glinda said. "Do you have any idea, Elphie, what I felt  
last night?" Elphaba was irritated at the sight of Glinda's watery  
eyes. "Oh, stop," the green girl said. "Don't cry over me. It's  
useless." Glinda chuckled a little and wiped away a tear. "Glad to see that  
you're still the same. Elphie-" Elphaba cut her off with a curt shake of her head. "I don't exist, Elphaba doesn't exist, and do you hear me?"

"Well, of course," said Glinda, exasperated. "I asked that Linnet  
woman for some 'Annaele Tllie', so I know that you've gone under an  
alias." Elphaba gripped Glinda's arm. "No, I don't exist to you, do you hear  
me?" Then, the intensity in her dark eyes gone, she checked Liir was  
still asleep. "I've been through enough, I don't want you dead also." "Also?" Glinda said. "Who also- oh. Fiyero." "Yes, Fiyero," Elphaba whispered. "So will you please, just, just go  
and forget you saw me now?" "You loved him, didn't you?" Glinda asked her. "You loved him, more  
than you loved Nessarose, more than you loved me-"

"Yes," Elphaba whispered and then, her animosity spent, she started  
crying again. -------- He had woken up in a cell some months ago, covered in blood- his own  
blood, he gathered. There's was no light in the cell, just rock. Southstairs, he had thought with dread. But how-?

He wracked his brains trying to think of what had happened. The  
memories of his past awake month had been blurry, with images sliding in  
and out like ice. There was Elphaba-Fae; he remembered farther back then that. He remembered going out to follow her and then coming back,  
waiting for her maybe- and then the people, the Gale Force, had beat him  
and hit his head and knocked him out. "How long?" He had croaked to a passing guard, voice rusty with  
disuse. The guard had laughed cruelly.

"Oh, the Winkle Prince's waked," he'd said. "Good time, a year an'  
an 'Alf you've been out like a light down 'ere. Don't 'spect to leave  
soon, yer Maj'sty. Yer family thinks you under the dirt and cold."

"So I'm dead?" "You en't living." the guard said, than went on his way. Fiyero had  
slumped back. Fae, he thought. Fae, dead or alive? Were the guards  
meant for her? He had been there forever, more or less, and he'd stay forever too.  
But then someone was shoved into his cell, a filthy pale little girl.  
Her name sounded like 'Nettle', her accent was so thick. From that he figured that she was from Ev originally, so her name was more likely Netta or Netle. But Fiyero wasn't sure. He asked about her, an eleven year old creature. Arrested and almost dead for plotting rebellion against the Wizard. There had been four  
other members in her cell, and from what she knew (which seemed to be little at first) only one besides her was left alive. After a week, she had begun to talk. "There was Trena, Jerimis, me, Wasil, and Fae. Or that was the code  
names then. My code name was Reeba. On'y Trena lived after the Gale  
Force went for us. I saw Wasil die, as we left under the cloaking spell.  
Jerimis committed suicide I know, he was Trena's lover. I saw Trena  
under her real name. Loralei. But I always think o' her as Trena." She  
paused, and Fiyero gave the little girl his water. He needed to hear  
more. "And this Fae?" he said casually, hoping it may have been her.

"Oh, yeah, Fae," Nettle said. "She jus' disappeared after a mission.  
She may be livin'- she was green, you know. Trena 'n me went to a  
mauntery for a week and there were a woman in a coma, had been that way  
for a sevenmonth. She was green like Fae had said she was. On'y it was  
more of a sicky color then." "Elphaba," Fiyero said quietly. Nettle looked up at him, taking the  
liberty of having more of his water. She was delighting in telling her  
tale to him, he could see that.

"What was that?" she said. Fiyero shook his head. "Go on about your Fae." He told her. Nettle shrugged. "A'ight." "So Fae was lying like a log on some mauntery cot. Trena went there after Jerimis ha' killed himself, she was that tired and sick of it all. I tried to help but I'm on'y 'bout eleven. Forgot me age. So Trena went to forget and she had caught sick. She was there an' we saw Fae. Like I said, she was in a coma. Her belly was huge. I asked some old maunt and they said she was pregnant. As if I couldn't see that! Th' maunt said that if she wouldn't wake they'd have to cut the babe out or sommat odd and Fae might die if she got infected. And then we left. So I think she's dead." Nettle shrugged. "And then me and Trena was caught, on'y Trena managed to 'scape  
but I didn't. Some fool Guard recognized us, got us, and I didn't run fast enough. So I'm here. And you?"

"I was from the Vinkus, the Arjiki tribe," he said. "And the Guards  
came to my room- well, the room I was going back to- and clubbed me  
over the head and dragged me here. I got blood on my opera cape." He told  
her, and then fell silent. Elphaba, Fae, Elphie. It repeated in his  
head, a pointless refrain. "You knew Fae, did you?" Nettle asked curiously. "Cos you didn't ask  
much 'bout Jerimis, or Wasil or Trena. I'm right, en't I?" Fiyero shrugged. "I knew her. At school." "And after," Nettle said slyly. "And after," he agreed. "And now she's dead and my family thinks I  
am, and so be it." Nettle sighed. "I told you lots, s'not fair now."

Fiyero scowled. He was being interrogated by an eleven year old girl  
now. "Nothing's fair."

"Aw, come on," the girl prodded. "If you tell, I think- I think-"

"You think what?"

"Well, ways to escape s'all."

Fiyero looked at the annoying child. "Ways that won't get us killed at the first move?"

"Possibly." Nettle said. "I know one of the Guards here sympathized wi' us, an' he's just down that way." She pointed, but Fiyero couldn't see through the dim haze in Southstairs.

"Right then," he said. "What do you want to know?"

------

Elphaba scrubbed at her eyes with a cloth, while Glinda patted her back sympathetically.

"Of course, Elphie dear, it's been so hard on you."

Elphaba sighed. "Glinda, the last time I really cried like this was after my mother died. Don't you understand_? I don't cry_."

"Well, then, fine," Glinda said. "We'll find a cheerier topic to chat about." She looked around the little room. "Like- oh! Tell me about your son!"

"There's nothing to say," Elphie said, clamming up immediately. "He was conceived and then born, both which I hope you know the process of."

"Yes," Glinda said. "What's his name again?"

"Liir." She stroked the sleeping boy's head, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Glinda, who smiled.

"Um," she said. "What's his birthday?"

Elphaba glared witheringly. "I don't care. I forgot. What about you? Do you have any children? I'd think that you would."

"And I'd think that you wouldn't," Glinda retorted. "But no, I do not have children."

"Lastly," Elphaba said. "Why are you here?"

Glinda looked astonished. "I'd think that it would be obvious," she said. "I miss you, Elphie."

Elphaba laughed coldly. "I don't believe it," she said.

"Well, believe it," Glinda told her. "Even with all your- quirks, I miss you." Glinda saw Elphaba roll her eyes. "No one mourns the wicked," she said.

"Oh, pish," Glinda waved a hand airily. "I miss you, and I'm called 'Glinda the Good' or something of the sort."

"And _what _exactly do you propose we do about this?" Elphaba said, half-joking. "You can't transplant yourself to this village you know."

Glinda paused for a bit. "No, but I'll think of something- oh! I know! You can come back to the Emerald City and live with me for a bit!"

Glinda was reminding Elphaba of those days when she was still Galinda, an airy-headed schoolgirl who cared about almost nothing else than herself. When she was silly and less mature.

"And that wouldn't work," the green girl said flatly. "For one, I have a job here. For two, I suspect I'm a wanted criminal. I am too green to be inconspicuous."

Glinda sucked in a breath. "A criminal? What have you done, Elphaba?"

"Several things. But I haven't killed anyone, don't worry." _Almost haven't killed anyone_, she added mentally. She had come quite close.

"Oh, Elphie," Glinda said. "Don't you understand? You left me alone. Not completely- but alone with Nessarose and Nanny and the rest of then. You disappeared. I mean, yes I knew that you were going to do it, well sort of. I suppose I had an inkling. But Elphaba, you know what I said to save you a seat in the Emerald City?"

"What?" Elphaba said, sucking in a breath. She struggled to keep her brow smooth and her face composed.

"I said you were my sister," Glinda said finally. "I've come from despising the sight of you to claiming you and I were blood. I think- I know I'm more of a sister to you than Nessa. She claimed she'd spit in your face and shun you if she saw you again."

"Sounds like her," Elphaba said dryly, and then blinked suddenly. "You said I was your sister? But why?"

"I don't know!" Glinda burst out. "Because people wanted your seat, and what else was I to say? Because you, with your odd habit of vanishing and reappearing, are a better friend than Pfannee or Milla or Shen-Shen ever were! Because I felt it!"

Elphaba was taken aback. "Oh," she said. "I- I didn't-"

"Didn't know? Of course not? You've been a- a felon for the past seven years! You've been running around the Emerald City blowing things up, I'm not stupid!"

"That is true," Elphaba said. "Although it wasn't only me. Glinda..."

"And now you're going to run again! That's all you do, run! You run from everything! You say that you're running _to _something, but no, you're running _away, can't you see?"_

"No I'm not," she replied automatically. "I'm not, not really!"

Glinda simply shrugged.

"I have missed you," she said, her voice tired. "I have,"

"I think I have, too," Elphaba said. "When- when I allow myself to think about it."

"Oh,"

They sat there on the bed in silence for some minutes then, the still sleeping Liir between them. Then Glinda spoke up.

"But I still want to be able to see you," she said. "Can't you consider coming to the Emerald City? You could be something else, someone else. I suppose it could work."

"It _could _work," Elphaba pointed out. "Could isn't good enough. I wish it were." She sighed. They both lapsed into silence again.

"I'm sorry," Elphaba said. "I am."

------

Fiyero decided that being on the run from the Gale Force, escaping from Southstairs trapped under a false bottom of a hay wagon, having what looked like horse feces on his elbow and lying next to a nosy eleven year old girl who wanted to know too much was decidedly _not _fun at _all_.


End file.
